Providence Station
MBTA: | other=Bus routes | platform= | parking= | bicycle= | passengers=565,701Amtrak only. | pass_year=2007 | pass_percent=10 | opened=1986 | ADA=true | code=PVD | owned=Amtrak | zone= | baggage_check=Available for Northeast Regionals 66 and 67 | services= }} Providence Station is a railroad station in Providence, Rhode Island and is served by Amtrak and the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA). The station has four tracks for passenger service, with a fifth track passing through for Providence and Worcester Railroad freight trains. It is the 17th busiest Amtrak station in the country, after BWI.http://www.amtrak.com/pdf/AmtrakBackgroundInformationFacts-022007.pdf Providence Station has full length high-level platforms and is wheelchair accessible. A new layover facility for MBTA commuter trains, located north of the station in Pawtucket, opened in 2006, allowing the MBTA to increase service to the city. Service is planned to T. F. Green Airport once a new station under construction in Warwick is completed around 2009. History Providence's first railroad station was Union Station, a brick edifice built in 1847 by the Providence and Worcester, Providence and Stonington, and Boston and Providence Railroads. This building was lost to fire in 1896, and replaced by a newer Union Station, completed 1898, which consisted of five large brick structures, built by New Haven Railroad. In 1986, the current Providence Station (shown here) was built to replace the 1898 station, as part of an redevelopment project to free up land from a mass of train tracks that had hemmed in downtown Providence. It is much smaller than its predecessor, reflecting the diminished local role of railroad transit. Designed by Marilyn Taylor of Skidmore, Owings and Merrill, local architectural historian William McKenzie Woodward lauds the building for its aesthetics, calling its saucer dome "an obvious yet very gracious gesture toward the (Rhode Island) State House".Woodward, Wm McKenzie. Guide to Providence Architecture. 1st ed. 2003: United States. ISBN 0-9742847-0-x. p303-304. The now-renovated buildings of the 1892 station still form the northern side of Kennedy Plaza in the center of Downtown Providence. Amtrak Two of Amtrak's passenger rail routes serve the station: the Acela Express and the Northeast Regional. The Acela Express is the United States' only high-speed rail service. It connects Boston's South Station with New York Penn Station and Washington, DC. The Regional rail service is a more local train that stretches between Newport News, Virginia and Boston. Not all Regional trains go to Newport News; the vast majority end at Washington, DC. 512,974 Amtrak passengers patronise the station annually. MBTA The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA), also has service at Providence station. The Providence/Stoughton commuter rail line's southern terminus is located at Providence. The Providence/Stoughton Line provides commuter service to towns between Providence and Boston, sharing track with Amtrak trains. A new station is under construction that will allow service to T.F. Green Airport in 2009 or 2010. Service might be extended farther south to Wickford Junction. Unlike what the name implies, there is no direct service from Providence to Stoughton, Massachusetts. Stoughton station lies on a branch of the Providence/Stoughton line that is only accessible from stations between South Station and Canton Junction. Ground transportation A taxi stand faces the city side of the station. Though the Kennedy Plaza hub for bus-based local and regional transportation is approximately 1/4 mile away, the route is not marked. The 50, 55, 56, and 57 RIPTA buses connect the state side of the station with Kennedy Plaza. Until the extension to the MBTA commuter rail is completed, those wishing to transfer to T.G Green Airport via public transportation must take a bus to Kennedy Plaza and transfer there. Notes References *Woodward, Wm McKenzie. Guide to Providence Architecture. 1st ed. 2003: United States. ISBN 0-9742847-0-x. p303-304. *[http://www.rifoundation.org/matriarch/Switch.asp_Q_PageID_E_430 One Union Station on The Rhode Island Foundation] *Three and One-Half Centuries at a Glance (May 2002). ProvidenceRI.com - History and Fact. External links *MBTA Providence Station *Providence Amtrak-MBTA Station (USA Rail Guide -- Train Web) Category:Amtrak stations in Rhode Island Category:MBTA Commuter Rail Category:Stations along Old Colony Railroad lines Category:Stations along New York and New England Railroad lines Category:Stations along New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad lines Category:Union stations in the United States Category:Buildings and structures in Providence, Rhode Island Category:Railway stations opened in 1986 Category:Clock towers in the United States Category:Towers in Rhode Island Category:Transportation in Providence, Rhode Island